“A good example has twice the value of good advice…” Albert Schweitzer

It’s not just the Lionesses whose performance can inspire…

Wow! What a great result for the Lionesses. Historic!

I am watching the open top bus inch down the road towards Buckingham Palace. The Mall is mobbed. Crowds forming along the route, twenty, thirty even forty deep. All determined to catch a glimpse of the victorious England Team aboard the bus. All sharing a moment of history that will stay with them forever.

Women’s sport has come a long way in the last decade. Not just football…

We are about to enter the run-up to the Women’s Rugby World Cup, which starts on 22nd August. And in October, and of particularly special interest to me as a cricket coach, we have the Women’s Cricket World Cup. There seems to be an embarrassment of riches in terms of fixtures this year.

However, sheer volumes of fixtures now in the mainstream media are not the whole story. The level of ambition amongst girls has also been driven up, with a dramatic increase in the number of girls dreaming about reaching the top in sport after being inspired by the
historic Lionesses’ win. A survey of over 2,500 children and young people aged 13-24, commissioned by the charity Women in Sport with the support of Sports Direct, showed that nearly 70% of girls who love playing sport and regularly participate dream of reaching the top, almost levelling with sporty boys at 75%. This is up from 50% of girls, in the same category, just two years ago.

And that got me thinking. Is this surge in interest in women’s sport just about the spectacle on the pitch? Or is there more to it than that? What does the Lionesses’ victory mean for our nation beyond the silverware and a nail-biting journey to win it!?! Established by tennis legend Billy Jean King in 1974, The Women’s Sports Foundation has found that success in women’s sports has very significant effects on the wider community.

Whilst sport has, for many years, been one of the most important sociological learning environments for boys and men, those same benefits are now being realised by girls and women…

US research found that High School girls who play sports are less likely to be involved in an unintended pregnancy, more likely to get better grades in school, and more likely to graduate than girls who do not play sports. Girls and women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression. Girls and women who play sports have a more positive body image, and experience higher states of psychological well-being than girls and women who do not play sports.

Sport is where boys have traditionally learned about teamwork, goal setting, the pursuit of excellence in performance and other achievement-oriented behaviours – critical skills necessary for success in the workplace. In an age when economic stability is dependent upon being a two-income family, girls cannot be less prepared for the highly competitive workplace than boys. It is no accident that 80% of the female executives at Fortune 500 companies identified themselves as former “tomboys”… having played sports!

So, there it is. Sport is not just about a few hours of entertainment. Or even inspiring a new generation of players. It turns out that the most important part of the legacy of the Lionesses’ success will be widespread aspirational benefits for our communities and our
nation.

And it is also reason to pause for thought, for each one of us. Because obviously these concepts are not confined to sport…

What about how you go about your daily life. Are you setting a good example?

Former high ranking Goldman Sachs banker, Greg Smith, famously quipped that “Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an axe murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence!” And if you look around, the sad thing is that… he has a point.

As for myself, I believe that whether in sport, at home or at work “A good example has twice the value of good advice…” And that is why today we lead by example at ASEL.

Dan Hardy

CEO